Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The Way I See It

I’ve been feeling bruised
lately.Battered and bruised.The news of the world is so filled with
malice, brutality, hatred, and evil I can barely comprehend it.Every soundbite, every picture, both galls me
and breaks my heart.This tension and
conflict has invaded the ecumenical Bible study that I co-lead.More often than not, the differences in our
theologies and faith perspectives have served to widen our sense and
understanding of God. But in recent weeks, those differences have driven us further
from one another.Add to all of this my own
internal struggle between the impossibly high standards I set for myself and
the self-doubt that plagues me when I fail to meet those standards – in all
honesty, I’m not sure Gandhi could live up to my standards – it is no wonder
that I feel worn and torn and bruised from the inside out and the outside in. From
where I’ve been sitting, life seems bleak, and I cannot seem to shake the
negativity that dwells within me.

Then
along comes this dress.I’ll pause while
you, dear reader, roll your eyes and say, “Enough with that dang dress
already!Who cares if it is blue and
black or white and gold?”Yes, I know, the
tumult over this dress was all foolishness.It was ludicrous. The vehemence with which people asserted that the
colors they saw were the true ones seems especially inane in light of the
tragedies that continue to unfold around us.The dress itself is not worth the time it takes to write this blog.But what fascinates me is the science behind
this dress of many colors.

I
do not proclaim to understand the science.But what I have gleaned from it is that the reason some of us saw one
set of colors and others saw another is because our retinas function in
different ways.So when I looked at the
dress, I saw the colors I saw because my retinas functioned at one level due to
the light, etc. of the photograph.People who saw the colors differently have retinas that function at a
different level.That’s it.That’s the reason we see different colors in
that silly dress.It’s pure
science.Let’s move on.

Fine.But before we do, here’s one more
thought.I can’t help but feel that
there is an implication in this that is much larger than what it seems.Much of the time I would rather cling to what
makes us alike more than what makes us different.However we may look outwardly, we share
physiological commonalities – skeletons, brains, muscles, tissue, blood cells,
and so on.The designations we assign to
each other based on these differences are artificial.Different races you say?Biologically we are one race, the human
one.But if I understand what I’ve read
correctly, there is diversity in our retinas, at least in the way they function.This physiological diversity leads to
diversity in how we perceive color.Maybe that sounds like no big deal.But I see this (no pun intended) as amazing.Our diversity is more than just our outer
appearance; it is part of our physiological makeup.

Some might see this as justification
for why we are at constant odds with one another.Some might see this as more reason to
separate into our own groups and factions.I don’t.What I’m grasping from
this is that diversity is not just a reality we have to deal with, it is necessary.Diversity lies within these bodies of
ours.And let’s be honest, these bodies are incredible.Whether or not
you believe in Creator and creation, it is hard to dispute the fact that the
human body is the most complex and elegant of all systems and designs. I don’t believe for a moment that any
human-made machine could ever match it.Science teaches me this as much as my faith does.But perhaps it is my faith that is pushing me
to see a greater purpose in this small diversity of retina.Diversity is necessary.I think it is necessary because it reminds me
that we need each other – if only to see, both literally and figuratively, in
different and diverse ways.I guess what
I’m really trying to articulate is that we need diversity, we need it.Diversity in our genes contributes to our physical health.Shouldn’t it also contribute to our emotional
and spiritual health?I’m not trying to be all sunshine and rainbows or 1970’s commercials for Coca Cola.I am too much of a realist for that. Yet I am
also in the business of hope.This glimpse
into the diversity of our eyes, the diversity that lies within and without, gives
me hope.Diversity does not have to be a point of
contention – as in the colors I see are the true ones.I’m right.You’re wrong.Instead, I think diversity
is a gift.A gift that reminds us our
eyes alone can only see so much.To see
fully – whether our focus is on a dress, a culture, or a creed – we need a
variety of differently functioning retinas.At least, that’s the way I see it.